From RollingStone.com:
http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/ ... on=single1
Alternative bluegrass trio come out of the darkness to tour behind third album
When Nickel Creek mandolinist/vocalist Chris Thile entered the studio to record the band's third album, Why Should the Fire Die?, due August 9th, he did as he always does: took a shot of Jameson's and lit a candle.
"The studio needs to be dark," Thile says. "I don't want to be reminded by my surroundings that what I'm singing about isn't happening right then. I like to really dissolve into the story. But the Jameson's I use more for keeping my vocal cords relaxed and clear."
Recording in Los Angeles with producers Eric Valentine (Third Eye Blind, Smash Mouth) and Tony Berg (Aimee Mann, Michael Penn), the California bluegrass trio -- Thile, guitarist Sean Watkins and violinist and younger sis Sara Watkins -- approached the sessions with a newfound confidence after winning a Grammy for 2002's This Side. "As a band we have started to come to terms with what we have to offer," Thile says. "On our first two albums, we were concerned about the perceptions of what we could do as a bluegrass band or a country band. This time, we felt completely at ease with those perceptions."
The result is an incisive collection of traditional bluegrass and alt-country rock that Thile says was inspired by relationships, both intimate and removed. "The title alludes to dissolution," he says. "The deeper you get in with anyone, certainly the darker and more complex it becomes. It seems like most relationships, particularly romantic, inevitably deteriorate . . . including, recently, my marriage."
Among the new songs are the Celtic-infused "Scotch & Chocolate" and a delicate cover of Bob Dylan's "Tomorrow Is a Long Time." But it's the storytelling and swirling instrumentation of "Helena" that Thile considers "the ultimate climax" of the record. "All moments in the album point to that second when the drums begin to swell," Thile says. "As a songwriter, I was happy with the development of the character and how he deteriorates before your eyes and exposes himself to be the desperate, conniving a**hole that he is."
Despite Nickel Creek's success, Thile doesn't feel any outside pressure. "All the pressure is self-imposed," he says. "We feel incredibly confident that we can beat what we did last. And we have. We obliterated the last one."
The trio will head to Europe before kicking off a North American tour on September 30th in Burlington, Vermont.
Nickel Creek tour dates:
9/30: Burlington, VT, Higher Ground
10/1: Burlington, VT, Higher Ground
10/2: Portland, ME, Merrill Auditorium
10/4: Philadelphia, Electric Factory
10/6: Boston, Orpheum Theatre
10/7: New York, Nokia Theatre Times Square
10/8: Charlottesville, VA, Charlottesville Pavillion
10/9: Washington, DC, 9:30 Club
10/11: Baltimore, Rams Head Live
10/13: Charlotte, NC, Ovens Auditorium
10/14: Atlanta, Fox Theatre
10/15: Nashville, War Memorial Auditorium
10/16: Nashville, War Memorial Auditorium
10/17: Lexington, KY, Singletary Center for the Arts
10/20: Columbus, OH, Newport Music Hall
10/21: Cleveland, House of Blues
10/22: Ypsilanti, MI, Pease Auditorium
10/23: Indianapolis, Egyptian Room
10/25: St. Louis, The Pageant
10/26: Chicago, Vic Theater
10/28: Milwaukee, WI, Pabst Theater
10/29: St. Paul, MN, Fitzgerald Theatre
10/29: Minneapolis, State Theatre
10/30: Madison, WI, Orpheum Theatre
11/1: Kansas City, MO, Uptown Theatre
11/3: Dallas, Gypsy Ballroom
11/4: Austin, Stubbs Bar-B-Q
11/5: Helotes, TX, Floores Country Store
11/6: Tulsa, OK, Cain's Ballroom
11/8: New Orleans, House of Blues
11/10: Louisville, KY, Brown Theatre
11/11: Birmingham, AL, Alabama Theater
11/12: Greensboro, NC, War Memorial Auditorium
11/13: Norfolk, VA, Norva Theatre
11/15: Charleston, SC, Charleston Music Hall
11/16: Knoxville, TN, Tennessee Theater
11/18: Orlando, FL, Hard Rock Live
11/19: Tampa, FL, Tampa Theater
11/20: Jacksonville, FL, Florida Theater
12/1: Denver, Fillmore Auditorium
12/2: Park City, UT, Eccles Center
12/3: Spokane, WA The Big Easy Concert House
12/4: Seattle, Paramount Theatre
12/6: Portland, OR, Roseland Theater
12/7: Portland, OR, Roseland Theater
12/10: San Francisco, Warfield Theatre
12/11: Reno, NV, Reno Hilton Theatre
12/14: Tempe, AZ, Marquee Theater
12/15: San Diego, House of Blues
12/16: San Diego, House of Blues
12/17: Los Angeles, The Wiltern LG
JESSICA ROBERTSON
Nickel Creek Get Fired Up
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island_hopper
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island_hopper
- Hoot!
- Posts: 2819
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YOu mean you can't just take 3 weeks off of work?ragtopW wrote:but then I could not see you on NYE!!!!island_hopper wrote:They're playing Portland twice......ragtopW wrote:No Boise on the list
I saw them on my birthday a few years back
Very good and Sara is so cute..Just a hop skip and a jump......
island_hopper wrote:YOu mean you can't just take 3 weeks off of work?ragtopW wrote:but then I could not see you on NYE!!!!island_hopper wrote:They're playing Portland twice......ragtopW wrote:
I saw them on my birthday a few years back
Very good and Sara is so cute..
<<<<< checking lotto numbers
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island_hopper
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- Posts: 2819
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From CreativeLoafing.com:
http://clnlb.us.publicus.com/apps/pbcs. ... 1/CHAVIBES
And They'll Sweep Out the Ashes in the Morning:
Nickel Creek's l'il pilgrims progress, cope, burn, chill
By Don Allred
Nickel Creek's self-titled Sugar Hill debut in 2000 was a vivid mix of youngblood joy and anxiety running through bluegrass. Raised conservatively - but in Southern California - the trio were prodigies living near prodigals, singing: "My greatest fear will be that you will crash and burn, and I won't feel your fire, I'm hung up on that wire."
Nickel Creek's wires included those on the mandolin, banjo and bouzouki of Chris Thile, then 19 (he's the tallest, and most excitable-sounding); the fiddle of Sara Watkins, at 18; the guitar of her brother Sean, who was 23; and the little-but-wiry vocals of all, who have performed and recorded together since childhood. On their very first album, 1993's Little Cowpoke, the band featured the traditional (and Hollywood) Western stylings of Chris, age 12; Sara, 11; and Sean, 15. (Be sure to request that era's "I'm an Old Cowhand," when they come to town.)
The 2000 release went gold, which is unusual for bluegrass, but so is the trio's music. Not so much the classical and jazz elements; those are fairly typical of progressive bluegrass. The young Nickels already had a strikingly personal point of view. Songs like "A Lighthouse's Tale" were early glimpses of their take on the world's beauty and wreckage, between the sea and the mountains, home and the freeway. Nickel Creek also sounded like they were ready to hit the road, Jack. There was one potential problem they were taking with them.
"Look at my girlfriend, isn't she pretty?" Chris asked, shakily, clutching his mandolin and staring down into its "face" for CMT's cameras, in late 2001. "I don't wanna boyfriend!" Sara laughingly answered a nosy reporter in the same mini-documentary, while still sounding like she meant it. Nickel Creek's energies seemed entirely focused on their music, and the resulting nervous edge was smoothed out by producer Alison Krauss, who brought the atmospheric sound of her own successful bluegrass-pop albums to the trio's work. The blend was distinctive, which may well be why Nickel Creek ended up in Billboard's Country Top Twenty in 2002.
On their second album, 2002's This Side, there were coded, subdued indications that Nickel Creek's (very) private lives were getting more complicated. But This Side's subtleties became hard to listen to, as Krauss' cautious approach now made the music too predictable. The group's new Why Should the Fire Die? (Sugar Hill) sports more versatile producers, Eric Valentine and Tony Berg, who make the dark moments seem dramatic now. The numbing down of This Side is receding.
On Fire, the Nickels sound like they've been easing into the kind of places they once could only enter via the stage door. And they've kept up with their homework. The disc's first single, "When in Rome," doesn't fiddle around except in the musical sense, as Sara's sweet, snake-charmer strings chime around Chris's calls: "Hey, those books you gave us look good on the shelves at home, and they'll burn warm in the fireplace, Teacher, when in Rome. Grab a blanket, sister, we'll make smoke signals, bring in some new blood, it feels like we're alone."
There are also plenty of candlelight confessions, which underscore what seems to be a more direct lyrical tack. Some boasting about what bad li'l pilgrims they are surfaces, as each Nickel contributes to the songwriting and takes turns singing lead. The only consistently disappointing track is Sara's wispy version of Dylan's "Tomorrow Is A Long Time." Brief instrumentals provide refreshment, while adding momentum. And "Doubting Thomas" is a confession so mature it's inspiring, especially since it leads to the breakthrough of the title song, in which love and doubt aren't just risked and endured, but embraced. If you can grow up to that point, then indeed, why should the fire die?
Nickel Creek plays at Ovens Auditorium, with opener Leona Naess, on October 13 at 7:30pm. Tickets are $24.50-$29.50. Call 704-522-6500 or go to www.musictoday.com.
http://clnlb.us.publicus.com/apps/pbcs. ... 1/CHAVIBES
And They'll Sweep Out the Ashes in the Morning:
Nickel Creek's l'il pilgrims progress, cope, burn, chill
By Don Allred
Nickel Creek's self-titled Sugar Hill debut in 2000 was a vivid mix of youngblood joy and anxiety running through bluegrass. Raised conservatively - but in Southern California - the trio were prodigies living near prodigals, singing: "My greatest fear will be that you will crash and burn, and I won't feel your fire, I'm hung up on that wire."
Nickel Creek's wires included those on the mandolin, banjo and bouzouki of Chris Thile, then 19 (he's the tallest, and most excitable-sounding); the fiddle of Sara Watkins, at 18; the guitar of her brother Sean, who was 23; and the little-but-wiry vocals of all, who have performed and recorded together since childhood. On their very first album, 1993's Little Cowpoke, the band featured the traditional (and Hollywood) Western stylings of Chris, age 12; Sara, 11; and Sean, 15. (Be sure to request that era's "I'm an Old Cowhand," when they come to town.)
The 2000 release went gold, which is unusual for bluegrass, but so is the trio's music. Not so much the classical and jazz elements; those are fairly typical of progressive bluegrass. The young Nickels already had a strikingly personal point of view. Songs like "A Lighthouse's Tale" were early glimpses of their take on the world's beauty and wreckage, between the sea and the mountains, home and the freeway. Nickel Creek also sounded like they were ready to hit the road, Jack. There was one potential problem they were taking with them.
"Look at my girlfriend, isn't she pretty?" Chris asked, shakily, clutching his mandolin and staring down into its "face" for CMT's cameras, in late 2001. "I don't wanna boyfriend!" Sara laughingly answered a nosy reporter in the same mini-documentary, while still sounding like she meant it. Nickel Creek's energies seemed entirely focused on their music, and the resulting nervous edge was smoothed out by producer Alison Krauss, who brought the atmospheric sound of her own successful bluegrass-pop albums to the trio's work. The blend was distinctive, which may well be why Nickel Creek ended up in Billboard's Country Top Twenty in 2002.
On their second album, 2002's This Side, there were coded, subdued indications that Nickel Creek's (very) private lives were getting more complicated. But This Side's subtleties became hard to listen to, as Krauss' cautious approach now made the music too predictable. The group's new Why Should the Fire Die? (Sugar Hill) sports more versatile producers, Eric Valentine and Tony Berg, who make the dark moments seem dramatic now. The numbing down of This Side is receding.
On Fire, the Nickels sound like they've been easing into the kind of places they once could only enter via the stage door. And they've kept up with their homework. The disc's first single, "When in Rome," doesn't fiddle around except in the musical sense, as Sara's sweet, snake-charmer strings chime around Chris's calls: "Hey, those books you gave us look good on the shelves at home, and they'll burn warm in the fireplace, Teacher, when in Rome. Grab a blanket, sister, we'll make smoke signals, bring in some new blood, it feels like we're alone."
There are also plenty of candlelight confessions, which underscore what seems to be a more direct lyrical tack. Some boasting about what bad li'l pilgrims they are surfaces, as each Nickel contributes to the songwriting and takes turns singing lead. The only consistently disappointing track is Sara's wispy version of Dylan's "Tomorrow Is A Long Time." Brief instrumentals provide refreshment, while adding momentum. And "Doubting Thomas" is a confession so mature it's inspiring, especially since it leads to the breakthrough of the title song, in which love and doubt aren't just risked and endured, but embraced. If you can grow up to that point, then indeed, why should the fire die?
Nickel Creek plays at Ovens Auditorium, with opener Leona Naess, on October 13 at 7:30pm. Tickets are $24.50-$29.50. Call 704-522-6500 or go to www.musictoday.com.
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PHat Matt
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Their opening act (cant remeber their name) are carrying their own keyboard for this tour, dispite what the rider says (it states that the venue must supply the keyboard).
(I shadowed the producer of Newport Music Hall for the Blues Traveler concert, the day before Nickel Creek. This problem took a while to solve....)
Havent heard since, but it sounded like they were gonna put on a heck of a show here in Columbus!! Heard a ton of good things about these guys.
(I shadowed the producer of Newport Music Hall for the Blues Traveler concert, the day before Nickel Creek. This problem took a while to solve....)
Havent heard since, but it sounded like they were gonna put on a heck of a show here in Columbus!! Heard a ton of good things about these guys.
and Jimmy theres still so much to be done...
WWW Trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent
WWW Trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent
